


Say Something - A Series of Phone Calls

by TheEmpressAR



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15315231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEmpressAR/pseuds/TheEmpressAR
Summary: Phone calls between Johnny and Daniel.Chapter Song:  Say Something - A Great Big World, Christina Aguilera





	1. Say Something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OutForAWalkBitkah3568](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OutForAWalkBitkah3568/gifts).



> Had a little something on my mind today. The Empress of Feels is off in her corner with her box of tissues. Anyone want to come sit with me? 
> 
> I just love these guys so much..they are the most broken...hurting people....with still a ton unresolved issues. I hope one day they will all come together and be good to each other!
> 
> EMPjoy! Let me know what you think!! It really gets you in the FEELS when you play the song while reading. I'mma be over here --------> boo hooing!!

A Series of Phone Calls

 **_Say something, I'm giving up on you_ **  
**_I'll be the one, if you want me to_ **

“Hello.”

“Hey…LaRusso.”

“Johnny?  What are you…wait…how did you get my number?”

“You’re not that hard to find…I called your dealership and that woman up front gave it eagerly to me when I threatened to sue your ass.”

“Ok…Ok…what’s this about?”

“Yeah…I was…I was wondering what you meant when you said… “‘I got what I wanted’…after the tournament.”

“C’mon…Johnny…it was just something I said…you know…you finally get one…something to rub in my face for years to come.”

“How can you be so petty?”

“Petty…that’s rich.  This coming from the man that used his students to do exactly what was done to me on the mat.  To his own son.” 

“You know that’s a really cheap shot, LaRusso.  I would have never had that done to Robby…if I knew that was going to happen, I would have never let it get as far as it did.” 

“Seems like I’m not the one you should be telling this to.”

“Yeah…well you know how it is.”

“He’s your son, Johnny.”

“I’ve tried.”

“Is this what you called me about, Johnny…I’m pretty busy here…maybe some other time…you know when you have a point to where this is going.”

“There’s the charm.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean the one time I reach out to you and you still act like an asshole. Where is the Daniel LaRusso from the other day…before everything went to shit?”  Bring that guy back.  I actually thought he was a real person.”

“Go to hell.”

“Be careful what you wish for, LaRusso.”

*click*

 **_Anywhere, I would've followed you_ **  
**_Say something, I'm giving up on you_ **

 

 **_And I am feeling so small_ **  
**_It was over my head_ **  
**_I know nothing at all_ **

“Hello...”

“Hey…John…it’s Daniel.”

“Yeah…what do you want?”

“I got to thinking.  I really wasn’t fair to you the other day.  I should have heard you out.”

“Forget it.”

“No…I mean it.  You reached out to me and…you know hey…after I calmed down…I realized it took a lot of guts to do that.”

*a sigh* “How is my son?”

“He’s a good student.  He is like a sponge.  He soaks up everything that is taught to him.  Physically and mentally.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean he was a pretty angry kid, when I met him.  He thought he could mask all of his hurt by playing games.  If I had known he was your son then, I would have understood things better.”

“You don’t know anything about it…LaRusso.  What I’ve been through with that kid…with his mother. What I’ve tried to do.  Where do you get off trying to paint that picture?”

“I only go by what I know.  I know you weren’t there. Not when it mattered most in his life.  He has told me as much.  I know that you were too busy wallowing in your self-loathing to make something out of yourself for his sake.”

“Shut up…you’re pissing me off!”

“C’mon, Johnny…that’s your go-to response.  The truth sometimes hurts.”

“Dan….Look…you son of a bitch.  You think you can sit there all high and mighty and dispense your “wisdom” out on me when you know nothing.  You weren’t there, either.  You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

“You’re not going to convince me that easily.  The answers you’re seeking are not going to be found in the bottom of that bottle in front of you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Typical.”

“Is this what you called me up for, to bust my balls?  Well I’ve done what I’ve could with my life now.  I’ve cleaned it up.  I’ve changed.  I’m sorry you’ve been too wrapped up in your own little world to see that.”

“Yeah you changed by painting dicks on billboards.”

“You got yours back…let it drop.”

“Look…I didn’t call you to fight.  I called you for your son.  I want you two to get together.  Talk. What our difference are, will never be fixed…it will never be over.   You can at least make an effort for Robby’s sake.”

“Stay out of my business.  I’ll handle it.”

“I’m sorry…but his business is my business now.  He needs his father.  I can only be so much for him.  Show him the kind of man you claimed that you’ve become now.  If you’ve changed.  Tell him.”

“He won’t let me.”

“He loves you.”

*click*

 

 **_And I will stumble and fall_ **  
**_I'm still learning to love_ **  
**_Just starting to crawl_ **

“What...”

“What did you do to him?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut your shit, Johnny…he came over to the house, crying.  Robby never cries.”

“I just can’t.  I can’t reach that kid.”

“What did you say that upset him?”

“I didn’t say anything…I just started talking.  It didn’t take long.”

“Long for what?”

“Long for him to start his crap.  Accusing, blaming, comparing me to you. I wanted to hit him.  I had to will myself to control my anger.  Something my own student has taught me.”

“You knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

“I didn’t know how much you were brainwashing him.”

“Brainwashing?!  Give me a break.”

“He thinks you’re the greatest thing walking and where can I possibly fit in with that?”

*silence*

“I don’t even know why I bothered.”

“I’ve never known you to have a defeatist attitude.  I thought you were the one who had to kick ass.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, LaRusso.”

“Neither does your son. You need to give him a chance.” 

“Just like you, I’ve given him a lifetime of chances.  I don’t know how much more I can give.  No one has given me the chance.  I’ve stayed in the hell I created for years.  Every time I see your face…or hear your voice or know you’re around.  It puts me right back down to ground zero.  How can I give any more chances?”

 **_Say something, I'm giving up on you_ **  
**_I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_ **

“This isn’t about us…Johnny.”

“Oh…I think that it is.”

“Well how do we fix, us?”

“That’s a loaded question.”

“I think it should start at the source.”

“That’s a wound that has scabbed over for decades.”

“You’re wrong. I think it’s still very fresh.  I could feel it when you shoved me into the wall.”

“You stole my son.”

“I didn’t ‘steal’ anything.”

“I wanted to trust you.  I wanted to…believe…”

“What?”

“That things would finally be different.  That I would know what I’ve known all along.  We know how to read each other in spite of…”

“You’re not making sense.”

“I’m making plenty of sense. You listened to me when I told you about your daughter.  When I told you about those punks beating up on my student.  You believed me as if it was second nature.”

*a sigh* “I’m not ready to go this far down the rabbit hole.  I just gave you the benefit of the doubt.  Don’t read too much into it.”

“Over your wife?”

“Good-bye Johnny.”

*click*

 

 **_And I will swallow my pride_ **  
**_You're the one that I love_ **  
**_And I'm saying goodbye_ **

“Hello…”

*breathing*

“You know I can read the caller ID.”

“Yeah…so what…”

“So…it’s after midnight...some of us have jobs.”

“So you’re ss-aying that I don’t?” 

“I’m saying…what do you want?  You’re gonna wake my wife up.”

“Did you know why I changed my mind about you back then…why I gave you the trophy…sooo easily…why I cried?  Why it meant something…after I hated you so much?”

“Johnny…you’re drunk.  Sleep it off ok?”

“LaRusso…I’m having an epiph…an epiph…”

“An epiphany?”

“That’s the word.”

*a laugh* “What did you come to realize?”  *a tired sigh*

“I realize that you weren’t such a bad guy after all.  Even if you did kick me in the face.  It was me.  It was that man that had made me who I was.  That made me do the things I did, made me feel the way I felt.  I admit it…maybe he had been wrong...the whole time.”

“We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah…but this is ...important.”

“Johnny…You’re not a monster. Let’s not bring up the ghosts ok?  They are buried where they should be.”

“Are they?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Seems like you bring it up…every time we meet. What is it exactly that you’re trying to prove?”

“That’s ridiculous…John…I do not do that.”

*silence*

“Ok…maybe once…well…alright…maybe a lot.  It’s all I have over you and I gotta do what I can to make you hurt.”

“And I’m the one with problems…”

“What do you want me to say, John?  Do you want me to tell you I’m sorry?  You probably won’t even remember this phone call tomorrow.  Do you want me to tell you I’m sorry I turned you into an alcoholic?  Do you want me to tell you that it made me feel great to see you when you were at your lowest?  Did you know I kept up with you all of those years?  Your marriage…Your divorce.  Is that what you want to hear?”  

“I just wanted to hear you say the words. That you acknowledge that it was you. That it was always… _you_.”

*click*

 

 **_Say something, I'm giving up on you_ **  
**_And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you_ **

“Hello…”

“John…did you mean what you said?”

“LaRusso…I don’t want to talk about it anymore.  Let’s just drop it ok?  You told me how you really feel and I have to learn to live with that.  I have to learn to live with the fact that you will never know what it’s truly like.  What it has been like…living all these years?  Living inside your shadow.  Living inside your guilt.  I had one shining moment…at a cost.  At a cost of your justification.  At a cost of the fact that you always have to win.  At the cost of losing my son. That it always has to be about you.”

“Johnny…I’m sorry.  I realize that now.  I realize what I must have done to you all of those years.  The damage because I couldn’t let what came between us go.  I didn’t realize how much I needed that until you actually came back into my life.  Until I saw you at the dealership.  Until I saw that Cobra Kai was reopening.  I lived my life thinking only of how I could best you.  How I could outdo the Great Johnny Lawrence?  All the while I was pushing you down and destroying you.  That’s not what I wanted.  That’s not what I ever wanted.  I made you into something you’re not.  I realize that now. 

**_And anywhere, I would have followed you_ **

You know all I wanted to be was accepted by you.  By your friends.  But mostly by you.  I just never really understood the animosity that you had for me.  The reasons why you had to be such an asshole.  When I lost Ali, so quickly that it made my head spin, I finally understood where you were coming from.  We shared something.  We shared a similar hurt.  A similar disappointment.  A similar question. ‘Why?’ She hurt us bad, Johnny.  She sent us both down similar paths of destruction.  I had to beat you.  One way or another I had to beat you and make you feel as miserable as I did.  Ask if it made me feel any better for doing so.”

“Did it?”

“No…I felt like…I felt like shit doing that…succeeding with your face in the back of my mind after every victory.  After every thought that I knew that you would be watching.  Somewhere.  That I had heard about all the shit that had gone down in your life and I felt.  I felt dirty.  Like your life crashed into mine and fell into pieces around me.

“Why didn’t you stop it?”

“It became me.  It is who I am now.  Years build up and over time we become who we are. I’m only realizing now how much my life has been out of balance because of this.”

“I was recently told that in life you get no do-overs.  That what has happened cannot be changed and it’s too late to do anything about it.”

“Tell me you don’t believe that.”

“I gotta do something for me now.  I’m long overdue.  I’ll see ya around, LaRusso.  It’s been…real.”

“Johnny…”

*click*

 

**_Oh, oh, oh, oh say something, I'm giving up on you_ **

*voicemail message* 

“Hey…Daniel…Look…I just wanted you to know.  I forgive you.  I forgive you for the years I spent searching.  The years I spent alone.  The years that your face was always in front of me.  The years that you took from me.  The years I spent stuck in that one moment of time.  I wanted you to know that I am…that I am proud of you.  The man that you’ve become.  The man that you turned out to be.  The one with a great family, a great life.  Do you think of us when you dream?  Do you think of those days? Do you ever wish…like I do…that things would have been…different?

Anyway…I just needed to tell you before I left.  There’s a great big world out there.  I’ve hung around long enough…waiting.  Tell my son I love him.” 

**_Say something, I'm giving up on you_ **

*voicemail clicks off*

“John…”

 

“John...are you there?”

 

“Johnny…”

  
**_Say something_**


	2. It Ain't Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel has to find Johnny. Is it too late? 
> 
> Chapter Song: It Ain't Me - Kygo, Selena Gomez

 

 

 

Conversations at a Bar

 **_I had a dream_ **  
**_We were sipping whiskey neat_ **  
**_Highest floor, The Bowery_ **  
**_Nowhere's high enough_ **

Daniel LaRusso became panicked.  There were not many times in his life when something shocked him to his core.

Winning the tournament with a crane kick that even his beloved sensei believed he could never pull off.  Fighting to the death against someone who placed the honor of his reputation over human life.  Facing off against madmen who used their power and money to manipulate him into fighting for revenge.  

He just felt it.  Somewhere deep inside.  He felt the last 34 years come crashing to a screeching halt.  His heart actually jumped painfully in his chest.  The reason he stayed here.  The reason he never left.  The reason he stayed awake at night trying to decipher the meanings of all his dreams. 

This was who he was.  No matter how devoid of emotion he had learned to become, when the chips were down, none of it mattered.  Not anymore.

Where would he go?  What would he do?  Daniel should have paid more attention.  Watched for the signs. 

He listened to the voicemail.  Once.  Twice.  Twelve times.  He wouldn’t.  He just wouldn’t do something that even in Daniel’s darkest thoughts willed him not consider.

He paused the racing thoughts careening around in his brain.  He considered.  He went to his window overlooking the driveway to his house and stared out of the blinds, contemplating.  He closed his eyes.  A perceptive smile shifted across his features.  He knew.

He grabbed his keys and raced out the door.

  
**_Somewhere along the lines_**  
**_We stopped seeing eye to eye_**  
**_You were staying out all night_**  
**_And I had enough_**

He opened the door to the bar where they had shared their first drinks in thirty…well in ever.  He stepped through the threshold and immediately transformed back into that nervous kid from Reseda.  The one that was all talk and flighty confidence.  He felt the Jersey he had fought so hard to extract from his bones, creep back in and solidify as if it had been behind the curtains, waiting for its turn. He wanted to see the Johnny he knew.  The arrogant bully.  The tough guy that had given him nightmares.  Hell, he wouldn’t even mind a punch in the eye at this point, if his assumptions were correct and he would find him here…waiting. 

A huddled shell of a man sat hunched over a bar stool zoning out into a space on the bar, breaking the focus only long enough to take another swallow of the numbing liquid that even now, failed to kill the pain. 

At first, Daniel thought he had it wrong.  He took a hesitant step or two toward the slouched figure, illuminated by the bright circular light shining down on his head, a beacon calling him home.  He looked so old.  Defeated.  A bit of chaff that could be blown away with the slightest breath to be whisked away to the winds.

“How did I know?”  Daniel posed the question to him.  The figure didn’t move, continuing to stare blankly ahead.

“I think that’s the stupidest question you’ve ever asked.”  He replied, finally breaking the gaze to stare at him.  His eyes were red-rimmed from crying and coming to terms. 

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” 

“Save it, LaRusso…if you came here to pity me you can turn your ass around right now and get the hell out of here.  You found what you wanted.  This should be able to sustain your self-righteous justification over me way more than a shitty tournament trophy ever could.”

Johnny…god…do you ever stop?  I was worried about you…ok? I’m not here to start fights and dig up old bones…at least not yet…I was here because I knew you were going to do something incredibly stupid if I didn’t.”

“I’m really flattered by the credit you give me.”

“You know I really wouldn’t mind punching you in the face right now.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I dunno…I don’t think the prospect of jail time suits me or my business at the moment.”

“Yeah…wouldn’t want to tarnish that pristine LaRusso image on a useless waste of an alcoholic, homeless bum.”

“Johnny…you’re not making any sense.” 

“I haven’t made any sense since 1984…what else is new?”

Daniel looked at him, his mouth drawing a firm line.  Some things he couldn’t argue with.

He ordered himself one of his favorite drinks and told the bartender to make it a double.  He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.  He took his dirty martini, extra, extra cold over to the stool he had sat on when they had come here the first time.  He waited.

 

 **_No, I don't wanna know_ **  
**_Where you been or where you're goin'_ **  
**_But I know I won't be home_ **  
**_And you'll be on your own_ **

Johnny looked sideways to where Daniel was sitting.  Man he could be such a stubborn asshole at times. Why couldn’t he leave well enough alone?  He told him what he had felt about him.  That should have been the end of it.  He got what he wanted.  He got his son, and Johnny was willing to give him up to LaRusso if that meant that he would finally find the love he had lacked in giving him.  He should be content now.  Family man with an extra “mouth to feed’. A better father.  A better person.  He swallowed his remaining dregs of beer and slid off of the stool.

“You know you don’t have to look so smug.”  He said stumbling a little as he approached the man sitting on the stool, sipping his drink like a dainty little princess.  Johnny scowled.

Daniel tried his hardest to keep the curl from forming on his lip.  He couldn’t help himself.  He hated being right. He tried to mask it with another sip of his drink.

Johnny climbed up on the stool and Daniel waited patiently until he had gotten himself settled.  It was hard to do, being as far gone as he was.  He offered a hand, but it was brushed away.

“Where did you go?”

“What?”

“Where did you go when you said you had something to do for you?”

Johnny held his hand up to the bartender and she gave him a wary look.  Daniel turned to look at him. 

“I think you’ve had enough.” 

“There you go, mothering again.”

“I do not…mother.  You wanna drink yourself into a coma, be my guest.”

Johnny gave him a watery smile.  “Would you miss me?”

Daniel paused.  He turned to look at Johnny who was looking at him, deadly serious.

“I came looking for you, didn’t I?”

He huffed a short laugh.  “Yeah…you did.”

Daniel motioned the bartender over and told her to put two more Coors Banquets on his tab.  He knew he was enabling, but he needed to keep Johnny where he was at.  He couldn’t risk him leaving in his condition.  Besides he knew when Johnny drank his tongue was loose.  He needed answers.

“How magnan…magnan…” 

“Don’t hurt yourself with too many syllables, pretty boy.  You want magnanimous.”  Daniel said chuckling.

“Dick.”

“See…stick to one syllable words…at least until you’re sober.”

“I sold the dojo.”

Daniel stopped mid-insult. “Excuse me?”

“I sold it…It’s gone…*POOF*” He opened the new bottle of beer popping the cap off of his forearm into the darkness.

 “John…why would you do that?!”

“Heh…I thought telling you that would have you pissing your pants in glee.” 

“Be serious for a minute, Johnny.  Are you kidding me, you sold it?  What about your students?”

“What about them?”

“Do you know what you’ve done?  Those kids look up to you.  I can admit that now.  I saw you out there at the tournament.  You know I watched you and your group more than any other group out there.  The only one I gave more attention to was Robby.”

“I’m overwhelmed with all the stroking, LaRusso. You know I could tell by the way you kept cutting eyes at me all night long.”

“If you weren’t trying to settle old grudges I wouldn’t have to.” 

“Touché”

“C’mon…there’s gotta be a reason why you did it, Johnny.  I’m not gonna lie.  I’ll never like Cobra Kai for what it did to me and for what it did to you.  But…”

Johnny studied his bottle.

“But you were making a difference.  You were right.  You were giving those kids a chance.  A chance they probably never would have had otherwise.  I didn’t see bullies there.  I saw kids needing a change.  I saw my daughter’s friend with more confidence than I’ve ever seen her with growing up.  A little aggressive maybe…”

“I think I’m gonna puke from all this attention.”

Daniel sighed in frustration. 

 **_I had a dream_ **  
**_We were back to seventeen_ **  
**_Summer nights and The Libertines_ **  
**_Never growing up_ **

“It was Kreese.”

“Johnny…what are you saying?  He’s dead.  You said so yourself.” 

“He was there standing in front of me, Daniel.  And it felt like I was going backward.  Falling through some sort of time warp.  I was eighteen.  Standing in front of him.  Terrified.  Memories cascading on top of the other.  I couldn’t move.  I couldn’t breathe.”

“Are you sure it was him?  Maybe you were just having a bad night.”  Daniel put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder and he involuntarily flinched it off.  He was falling back into memories.”

No…FUCK…LaRusso…he was standing right in front of me.  I could have reached out and touched him.  Some kinda fucking phantom. Taunting the nightmares of the last 30 years of my life.  I mean you’re bad enough but to have him there?”

Johnny scrubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to clear the memories of the dark figure in his doorway.  Daniel put his hand back on Johnny’s shoulder.  This time he didn’t move it away.  He shuddered.

“I can’t take it anymore.”

“What did he want?”

“What does it matter?  He’s here and he’s my waking fear come back to life.  He took everything I had away from me, by allowing me to make the poor judgment of trying to end you.  It’s been one endless downward snowball ride to hell ever since.”

“I find that hard to believe that your life was destroyed by my kicking your face.”

“You remember what you said to me the first time you saw me in your car dealership?”

Daniel looked back down at the bar.  He made water rings with the condensation on his glass.  He knew what he was getting at.

“It’s always on our minds.” 

“Do you know how our lives would be now if the story had been written differently?”  Johnny looked up, catching Daniel’s eye in the mirror behind the bottles lined up on the shelves in the bar.  The just looked at each other.  Flashing images between two boys, two middle-aged men.  A tear dripped down Johnny’s cheek.

“I’m sorry.”  Daniel said closing his hand over Johnny’s.

“I…” Johnny’s eyes slid shut as he slipped off the barstool to the ground, unconscious.

 **_I'll take with me_ **  
**_The Polaroids and the memories_ **  
**_But you know I'm gonna leave_ **  
**_Behind the worst of us_ **

“Sweep the leg.”  Kreese loomed over the conflicted teenager.  He looked at his Sensei, years of training to strike first, strike hard and show no mercy, layered with a terrible home life and an ill mother who he constantly worried himself sick over. A reputation to maintain, and a hell of a lot of anger over losing someone he knew he was going to marry and start a life with played like a slideshow in his head at that moment.  He looked over at the boy, the little bit of nothing that he could easily overcome in a fair fight, waiting patiently, innocently.  Scared.  Trembling.  ‘ _What was he doing?’_

“Do you have a problem with that?”

 _‘What are you asking me to do?’_   He saw years of his life in the future, staring into Kreese’s dark eyes.  He had a choice to make.

“No, Sensei.”

He walked back to the mat.  He stared at Daniel.  He didn’t know that that face would be in front of him for the rest of his life.  Forever and a day, one way or another.  His face would be there.  His fate sealed with one kick to his own.

 _“You’re all right, LaRusso,”_ Johnny said in the past and in the future, confusing the timeline in between.

“Don’t move, Johnny…just lay still.”

“What happened…when am I?”

“When?”  Daniel laughed softly.

“Where…Wise ass.” 

“Yeah…you’re ok.”

“Hey…listen…Daniel…”

“Don’t try to talk now.  You passed out.  You got quite a knot on your head.  The paramedics will be here soon.”

“I know…but I gotta ask you something.”

“It can’t wait?  I’m going to go to the hospital with you…I’ll be there the whole time.”

“Thanks.”  He swallowed the lump of emotion that had formed.  “I…I just wanted to ask you…”  He said staring up into dizziness making Daniel switch back and forth from teen to man.

“Yeah…Johnny…what is it?”

“Do you think we could be friends?”

Daniel heard the words that he had echoed to Robby after he was injured in the locker room.

_“Look Robby…your dad and I we have our issues. But…you and him…that’s another story."_

_“I’m sorry I lied to you Mr. LaRusso.  I just wanted to get back at him."_

_“I know.  But you’re never going to find balance that way.  You can’t let that bad blood change who you are.  I’m not saying you need to like the guy…I know I never will…"_

For Robby’s sake, for Johnny’s sake and his own, Daniel washed away 30 years of the bitter, angry, resentful, guilty past gaining balance with just one single word.

“Yes.”

 **_Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning?_ **  
**_Who's gonna rock you when the sun won't let you sleep?_ **  
**_Who's waking up to drive you home when you're drunk and all alone?_ **  
**_Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning?_ **

_It ain't me, no, no_  
  


_Grateful, I'm so grateful…_


	3. Go Your Own Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny tries to get back with his son. Is the timing right? Does he have a friend to help him along the way? 
> 
> Song Lyrics - Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where this came from...but once I got it going...I got it going!! I NEVER refuse a song that hits me in the face and says...HEY!!! I know my Teddy Bear Hugs was wanting a closure chapter!! I hope this brings you the FEELS for REALS!! 
> 
> I'm handing out boxes of tissues and chocolates and warm blankies and all the stuffs to help you through this. Sniff...I just hope they both can be father and son next season!!!!! Send all the well wishies to them!!! 
> 
> EMPjoy!!!

 

 **_Loving you_ **  
**_Isn't the right thing to do_ **  
**_How can I ever change things_ **  
**_That I feel_ **

_“It’s my fucking dad…”_

Robby thought over the events of the last couple of months.  He thought of how his life was then and what it was now.  He lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling in his run-down apartment.  Soothing pan flute music was echoing softly through his headphones.  He smirked.  He would have never dreamed of listening to this prissy shit last year.  Now it was the only thing that seemed to be able to put him at ease.  Help him to sleep. 

For some reason tonight, his dad was on his mind.  He pinched his eyes shut trying to push the thoughts away.  So much had happened between them in past weeks than he had experienced in his short sixteen years on this rock.  “I won’t admit it…he can go to hell.”  He muttered and clicked out the light beside him. 

The pictures behind his mind’s eye wouldn’t let up.  He thought about taking molly to drive the visions away…but that was something else he had given up.  With the help of someone he was wishing could have been his real dad.  He guiltily brushed that thought away too.  His mind was a mess. 

_“Look Robby…your dad and I we have our issues. But…you and him…that’s another story."_

_“I’m sorry I lied to you Mr. LaRusso.  I just wanted to get back at him."_

He remembered the pained look on his father’s face as he put his fists up, ready to strike him, lash out at him if he lay another hand on Mr. LaRusso.  He knew his dad knew the message was clear then.

 _“You gotta be kidding me…”_  

Images colliding one another on top of themselves.  Seeing his dad with Diaz.  Seeing him give him hugs and treating him like he was the son he wanted.  Why didn’t he give Robby that?  Why was it 16 years too late?  If he had to admit it to himself he wasn’t very fair.  But what was fairness when your father was a drunk and a fuck-up and that’s what you’d been spoon fed since the time you could walk?   It wasn’t fair.

He remembered that his dad _did_ take the principal’s calls when he was busted.  He remembered that he _did_ come over to the apartment to find out why he didn’t go back to school.  He remembered that he _did_ at one time consider going to see him.  To try and make up for lost time.  He remembered that his dad _was_ concerned for him when he was injured at the tournament.  He yelled at those memories and rolled over, changing the pan flute music to some System of A Down.  ‘ _I tried, Mr. LaRusso…I tried.’_

Maybe he would have that joint after all.

 **_If I could_ **  
**_Maybe I'd give you my world_ **  
**_How can I_ **  
**_When you won't take it from me_ **

_“Robby…are you ok…”_

_“Get the hell away from me…”_

LaRusso was right.  He hated admitting it.  He looked around his empty, but clean apartment.  He looked at his table that still had the unfinished letter to his son lying on it.  The words stopped in mid-sentence.  He had forgotten what they had said.  What they had meant.  The last thing he remembered was looking into his son’s eyes and telling him that he was sorry.   That he would try over and over until Robby would give him a chance and hear him out.  He didn’t know when or if that would ever be. 

LaRusso promised he’d be his friend.  He had gotten him off the floor and he had gotten him back on his feet.  He told him that he should re-consider opening the dojo.  He couldn’t leave those kids without their mentor.  Their Sensei.  Johnny didn’t know how to feel about it.  He had problems.  He was not much of a role model in the state he was in right then.  He didn’t want it anymore if his life was a shambles.  He told Daniel that he would think about it.  He still had nightmares.

Daniel told him that he was not going to go easy on him.  Being friends with Daniel LaRusso was going to come at a price.  And that price was fixing it with his son.  Now that Daniel knew who Robby was to him, he was relentless in his requests that he develop a relationship with him. 

“It’s one or the other, John…” 

“LaRusso…I can’t even get my own life back together…how am I gonna fix my kid?”

“You’ve been given another chance. Don’t blow it this time.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore.  He won’t see me.”

“Make him.  He may surprise you.”

That was a week ago.  Robby had refused any attempts that he had made to get together.  The one time he did before all of this went down, after the tournament, ended in him calling him a fucking bastard and running away to Daniel’s house. 

\-----

“Robby…it’s your…it’s your dad…I really hate leaving voicemails…I’m not even sure you’re getting any of these anyway.  Look.  I want you to meet me soon.  We need to talk.” 

The call clicked over and there was silence on the other end.

“Robby?”

“Yeah…what do you want?”

“I…how have you been?” 

“Not too great since the last time.”

“Yeah…about that…I’m sorry…I just got mad at LaRu....your sen _sei_ …and then you…you shut down and…”

“Dad…it’s fine.  I’m over it.”

“Cool…that’s…”

“Dad...it’s late…what did you want?”

“Uh…well I was wondering…god..you’d think this would get easier…I work with brats all the time…uh…I was wondering if you would want to come over sometime.  I got a couple of those MMA videos you told me about and I was thinking about ordering Chinese.”  Johnny rambled on, not pausing unless Robby would refuse in the break. 

Robby smirked at his effort.  Somewhere inside of him he was already partially forgiving him again.  He partially forgave him every time he thought about him.  Some part of him just could never totally write him off. Still…

“I dunno…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What…why…?” Johnny stopped short.  “I…I understand.”  He was giving up too soon but also listening to Daniel when he told him to let Robby take the lead in where they should go.  If he didn’t want to see him yet, he’d still try and respect his wishes.

Robby was upset that he stopped harassing him so soon.  He frowned.  “I mean…it’s just…it’s too soon after…you know…everything…I don’t feel…”

“No…I get it…I really do.  Well…I’ll try to call you next week, then.” 

Silence on both ends of the phone. 

“Well bye.”  Johnny said hanging up.

“Da…”  Robby looked down at his cell and hit the end button.

 **_You can go your own way_ **  
**_Go your own way_ **  
**_You can call it_ **  
**_Another lonely day_ **  
**_You can go your own way_ **  
**_Go your own way_ **

“Sensei…why?”

“Why what, Diaz?”

“Why did you close Cobra Kai?”  Miguel had confronted him outside of his apartment.  He was confused and angry.  He had his own set of problems.  Cobra Kai was the only thing that was keeping him focused and grounded and now his Sensei was pussying out and abandoning them.  He frowned.  He was so angry at everything these days. 

“It’s complicated, Diaz…I got a lot of shit going on in my head right now.  I can’t bring that to the rest of you and expect you to learn the way of the fist.”

“Cobra Kai never dies!!  You taught me that!”  He said pushing Johnny’s shoulder snapping him out of his reverie. 

“Yeah…but sometimes even snakes brumate.”

“They what?”

“Look it up…I gotta go.”

“But Sensei….” 

Johnny left him without looking back.  He had too much on his mind and without a drink he didn’t have the willpower to tolerate outside distractions.  He shook his head. Diaz was not an outside distraction.  He turned to look back at the boy who was standing there in the middle of the walkway between their apartments. He saw the pain on the young man’s face.  Another life that depended on his.  Another life that meant something to him.  This one he felt a fatherly pride that welled up every time he looked at him.  This one he had cared for, trained and loved like he could have been his first born.  A tear formed in the corner of his eye.  He couldn’t mess up another life.  He’d already done the damage by making him the angry, aggressive teen he was now.  He could hear his ex-wife’s voice in his head.  “No do-overs.”

“C’mon Diaz.”

“Where are we going?” He stood in front of him.  He saw the familiar glint in his eye.  He knew he had a lot to do with his development as well.  Sensei Lawrence was not the same man he met last year.  He had helped him calm himself and to think before he struck first. It was a give and take.

“We’re gonna get the dojo back!”  He said and the little smirk of a smile played around Johnny’s lips.  He was finally ready.  He knew it was now or never. 

Miguel smiled wide and nodded his head.  He high-fived Johnny pulling him in for a shoulder hug.  Johnny clapped his hand on Miguel’s back.  “You got this…Sensei!”

 

**_Tell me why_ **  
**_Everything turned around_ **  
**_Packing up_ **  
**_Shacking up is all you want to do_ **

“Are you going out again?”  He stood behind her looking at her adjust her earrings and quickly apply some lipstick and look at him in the reflection. 

“Honey…it’s Friday night.”

“Yeah…but…we never do anything anymore.”  He wanted to kick himself for the whine at the end of his words.  He had learned that she wasn’t going to change her ways.  That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less.  His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked down at the floor prepared for another rejection.

“Oh...Robby.”  Shannon said turning around to put her arms around him.  She smelled heavily of some flowery perfume.  He had come to recognize her by the smell lately.  He wished that she would have smelled the way she did when he was growing up.  Although he could barely remember the time that she didn’t.  He really wished they were closer.  Inevitably the conversation always turned back to his dad.  He recognized her tell-tale signs.

“You’re such a grown young man now.  What am I going to do with you that you couldn’t be out doing with your friends?  I wouldn’t have thought you wanted to have your mom hanging on your arm, embarrassing you.”

“You know that’s not true.  We could do anything.  I just would like for you to spend some time with me.”

Shannon had noticed the changes in him.  He wasn’t as angry as he had been in the past, but she could still see the hurt trapped behind his eyes.  She just was too tired and couldn’t look past her own needs to care to do anything about it. 

“I promised I’d meet this guy tonight.” 

Robby sighed.  He looked at her, his eyes going sharp and cold.  _‘Please don’t say it…’_

“You know if it wasn’t for your father, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” 

“Again with dad…why can’t you leave him out of this for once?  He’s not here to defend himself.”  He snapped.

She opened her mouth in shock.  This was the first time ever he didn’t succumb to her fallback tactic to keep him under control.  To keep her the angel and Johnny the devil forever bent on not giving them the lives they both deserved.

“OH I’m sorry…did I say anything that wasn’t the truth?”  She said her voice going harsh.  She walked over to the counter and started throwing stuff in her bag.

“Mom…”

“No…you know what fine…I get it.  You’re gonna take his side.  I knew it would happen.  I sit here and raise you…your whole life.  I’m the one who’s been there.  NOT HIM! He barely gives us enough money to survive…and I’m the bad guy?!”

“Where does his money go?”  Robby interjected.  He didn’t want to call it out but he wanted to make her see that none of the money had been spent on him lately…only on her lifestyle.

She floundered. “That’s beside the point.  I’ve been here for you while that asshole is out on the street.  Living his life.  He didn’t have to be burdened by some kid and his lifestyle suffered.  He didn’t have to get you through all your crap growing up.  Getting you through school watching as you do whatever the hell you want to do and I can’t do nothing about it.  Where was he?  Out getting drunk and shit-faced every night.”

“You don’t know that.” Robby said noticing that once again she didn’t realize that she had hurt him with her words more than he had done with his absence.

“Your dad…is a deadbeat.  It’s the last I’m going to say on the subject.  He’s an alcoholic and a horrible father that abandoned both of us. I’m tired of trying to defend him.”

“Is this what you call defending him?”

“I…I don’t really want to talk about it now…Robby…I’m late ok?  You messed up my mascara because now…look at me!”  She went back to the mirror dabbing her eyes.

Robby looked at her.  He loved his mother…but it was becoming clearer to him.

“Robby…please don’t look at me like that.”  She went over to him and tried to hug him.  He shrugged away. She sighed and pressed a lipsticked kiss to his forehead.  She smoothed it away with her thumb. “Don’t wait up, kiddo. I love you.”  She said sadly, grabbing her bag and going to the door.

“I won’t.”  He said looking after her.  He had stopped telling her he loved her a while back.

_**If I could** _  
_**Baby I'd give you my world** _  
_**Open up** _  
_**Everything's waiting for you** _

_“You can’t let that bad blood change who you are…he’s not a monster.”_

“Dad?”

“Huh…who is this?”

“Dad…you called me…”

“What…is this…Robby?” His words slurred.

“Dad…where are you?”

“Robby…hey…!”  He laughed into the phone. 

Robby sighed.  He pinched his fingers at the base of his nose.  He ran a hand through his hair, flipping it back and looking at the ceiling.

“You’re drunk.”

“Yep.”

“Did you butt dial me?”

“Did I what dial you?”

“Never mind…I’m hanging up.”

“NO…Robby…no wait…hold on a minute.”

Robby waited.  He listened.  It sounded like his dad had started to snore. 

“DAD!”

“What…huh?  Oh…Hey Robby…”

*a sigh*

“Why do you hate me?”

“What?”

“Yeah…what’s so special about….*gagging* What’s so special about Sen _sei_ LaRusso?”  He said making it sound like it was like talking through a bag of razor blades.

“Dad…I dunno…I…was just mad.  You don’t know what it’s like.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Yeah…you told me.”

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“Well for starters, you’re drunk now.” 

“I’m not always drunk. Sometimes I’m only half-drunk.” He laughed.

Robby couldn’t help but chuckle at that too.

“That’s a nice sound.”

“Sure.”  He said noncommittal.

“You wanna come over and hang out?” 

“It’s three in the morning.” 

“Is it?” 

“Yes…I gotta go to work tomorrow.”

“Fucking LaRusso.” It was hard to remember he was friends with the man now…old habits died hard.

“DAD!”

“Sorry…sorry…skip work…we’ll go to the zoo or something.”

“Dad…I’m sixteen…I don’t do the zoo anymore.”

“Ok fine…”

“Look…when you’re sober…you can call me…but until then…I just don’t think this is gonna go anywhere.”

“When did you start getting so damn bossy?”

“Forget it…God…it’s always gonna be this way isn’t it?” 

*a sigh*  “LaRusso doesn’t know shit.”

“Leave Mr. LaRusso out of this.  I told you!”

“There’s no pleasing either of you!!”

“What you don’t get is that you never had to please me…but you never tried to either.  This is all I’m left with.  And you’re doing it again!!” 

*silence*  Robby was about to hang up the phone for good.  A soft voice spoke as if muddled with sleep.  He listened.  His could tell his dad was talking to him but it was unconscious talk. 

“I never meant….hurt…..I….wanted better…..mean so much to me…so fucking sorry…”

Robby gripped his cell tightly.  He scrunched his face up to the words.  He knew his dad was passing out, but he knew the truth was coming from him now.

“Why couldn’t you say this to me when you weren’t drunk?” He screamed into the phone.  His thumb hoovered over the end call button.

“I…love you…son.” He heard the muffled sound of the phone dropping to the floor.

 **_You can go your own way_ **  
**_Go your own way_ **  
**_You can call it_ **  
**_Another lonely day_ **  
**_You can go your own way_ **  
**_Go your own way_ **

_“So we headed home?”_

_“You wish…training ain’t over yet.  You may know the moves but none of that matters unless you have balance.”_

_“I balance on my skateboard every day.”_

_“I didn’t mean balance in your body, I mean balance in your life.”_

Johnny had tried over the course of the next month to get Robby to see him.  To talk.  Robby reminded him that he needed to get on the wagon before he even made an effort. It was one thing he knew his dad would have the hardest time with.  He knew that he would never give up drinking and that he couldn’t give it up at this point.  He was so fucking angry that his dad wouldn’t even try hard enough to give it up for him.  He knew that he had tried.  He knew that he had cut back.  He had seen that he had gotten his dojo up and running again and that he was doing well, training his students and surprise of all surprises, become better friends with Mr. LaRusso. 

He had seen them together at the LaRusso’s house on many occasions and the conversations had been awkward.   But they had pushed their way through.  He was starting to see the change and he was liking what he was seeing.  He just wasn’t getting what he wanted from his dad.  He wasn’t giving him anything either. 

Tears started coursing down Robby’s cheeks as he finished his joint and counted the water patches on his ceiling.  He wanted his dad now more than anything.  He let out a frustrated cry.  Why were they both so goddamn stubborn?  What was it going to take for one of them to crack.  To break.  His dad told him that he loved him.  Was it ever going to be good enough?  Was that enough for Robby now?  He bit his lip until he drew blood.  He fought the last threads of hurt that had walled and built up inside him.  He saw his dad and Miguel together.  He wanted that more than anything.  He knew his dad had the door wide open.  All he had to do was walk through it.

_“Look Robby I know it’s hard growing up without a dad, believe me mine died when I was young, I know…but when those bad feelings weigh you down you gotta,  you gotta search inside for the good stuff you know and just….it’s then you can find the balance in your life…understand?  It’s not easy but you’ll do it. “_

Some unnamed emotion washed over Robby then. He was suddenly afraid.  Afraid of what?  Afraid that one day he might lose the opportunity to have his dad…that it might be too late if something happened to him.

“Dad…”  He cried out.  He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the door.  He needed to go.  He ran down the street.  Running past the hurt.  Running past the pain.  Running past the loneliness.  He silently thanked Mr. LaRusso for helping him to see.  When the balance hit him it, it knocked him over.  He smiled.  A true, genuine light up the night smile.  His eyes held promise.  His heart was heavy and light at the same time.

 **_You can go your own way_ **  
**_You can call it_ **  
**_Another lonely day_ **  
**_You can go your own way_ **

 

“Hi Dad…”

**Author's Note:**

> “I have a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap. And I have a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly."


End file.
